Roman Catholic Diocese of Alexandria-Cornwall
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Alexandria–Cornwall was a Roman Catholic diocese that comprises the easternmost part of the Province of Ontario. The diocese was created by Pope Leo XIII on January 23, 1890. It has also previously operated under the name the Roman Catholic Diocese of Alexandria in Ontario. On May 6, 2020, Pope Francis has ordered the merging of the Archdiocese of Ottawa and the diocese of Alexandria-Cornwall in Canada and has named the current Archbishop of Ottawa, Terrence Prendergast, as Archbishop of the new ecclesiastical circumscription of Ottawa-Cornwall.
The see of Alexandria-Cornwall was vacant following the appointment of then-bishop Marcel Damphousse as the Bishop of Sault Sainte Marie on November 12, 2015. Archbishop Terrence Thomas Prendergast, SJ, of the Archdiocese of Ottawa, was appointed Apostolic Administrator on January 13, 2016 and became Bishop of Alexandria-Cornwall on April 27, 2018 while remaining Archbishop of Ottawa.
The two dioceses were united “in persona episcopi”.
On December 12, 2018 Pope Francis named Reverend Guy Desrochers C.Ss.R. Titular Bishop of Melzi and Auxiliary Bishop of Alexandria-Cornwall.
As of 2004, the diocese contains 32 parishes, 36 active diocesan priests, 9 religious priests, and 56,000 Catholics. It also has 32 Women Religious, 13 Religious Brothers, and 16 permanent deacons.Bishops
The following is a list of the bishops of Alexandria-Cornwall, and their terms of service:
- Alexander Macdonell
- William Andrew Macdonell
- Félix Couturier, O.P.
- Rosario L. Brodeur
- Adolphe E. Proulx
- Eugène Philippe LaRocque
- Paul-André Durocher, appointed Archbishop of Gatineau, Québec
- Marcel Damphousse, appointed Bishop of Sault Sainte Marie, Ontario
- Terrence Prendergast, S.J.
- Terrence Prendergast, S.J.
Coadjutor bishop
- Rosario L. Brodeur
Auxiliary bishops
- Jacques Landriault, appointed Bishop of Hearst, Ontario
- Joseph-Aurèle Plourde, appointed Archbishop of Ottawa, Ontario
- Guy Desrochers, C.Ss.R., appointed Bishop of Pembroke, Ontario
Other priest of this diocese who became bishop
- Joseph Luc André Bouchard, appointed Bishop of Saint Paul in Alberta in 2001